Bottle #8826. Poured a slightly hazy peach with not much more than a swirl and a looser ring of caramel headage. The nose found a solid dose of vinous and plum notes on a caramel foundation with herbal and medicinal notes... some apparent (and expected) oxidation too.

The flavor had plums, aged vinous qualities, and drawn, smoky caramel at its core.. building floral bitterness as it reached the edges of the mouth.. and rum-laden caramel + dark fruit on the long, warm finish. Syrupy on the palate with low carbonation, moderate, well-placed bitterness, and prickly alcohol near the throat. Tasty brew that is likely past its prime, but still holding up quite well.

Bottle No: 24620 Aroma of dark fruit which tops malt. Deep translucent apricot color, with virtually no head. Starts extremely smooth with dark fruit (but not really plummy), followed by malt, noticeable alcohol and a light hop finish. As it goes on, the alcohol becomes a bit more assertive, and accents the hops. I understand the reference to fruitcake. Wish I had 29,999 more (Iíd share).

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow, biegaman & blankboy -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Bottle #08837. Wow, thanks Harry for sharing this rare treat! Iíve been after the older Vintage Fullers for some time. Dark golden brown, small bubbly head. Such a strong aroma for a 5 year old English Strong - rich dark fruity malts, slight hint of whisky - very nice. Nice taste. Surprisingly hoppy up front, lots of fruitcake notes in the middle, bread, rich malt, alcohol, and hops at the end. Wow, so good. Complex. Best Fullers Vintage I have had yet and in remarkable shape for 5 years old.

Bottle shared with biegaman, blankboy, tupalev & HogTownHarry - courtesy of HogTownHarry. Bottle #08837. Pours a hazy orange-amber with a small beige head. Aroma is great - brown sugar, dark fruit, tobacco leaf, slightly earthy - a little stale, perhaps, but nice. Flavour seems to have suffered a bit more from age - thereís dark caramel, some whiskey and raisin notes, some hops poking through in the finish, but it seems lighter and less assertive than it should be. Still, for a 5 year old beer, itís more than respectable - thanks to Harry for sharing this rare treat.

Bottle #08965. Aroma is sweet and fruity like a barleywine. Flavor is yeasty and sweet with hints of earth, some grape, and honey. Nice flavor. A bit thinner than I expected. Very lively. Slightly bitter finish. Great drinkable beer. Finish is slightly warm, but not over the top. Very Nice.

Bottle @ Kookfest. Slight acetic flavours and mild honeyish malt. Perhaps the strongest alcohol feel of the lot. It did have a smooth nicely balanced honeyish sweetness. Slighlty prickly mouthfeel. More approachable than most of them but the alcohol and acetic flavour combine with the carbonation to give a poor finish.

KookFest 2006. Less sweet and hoppy than 2002. Aged sherry notes. Caramel. Jelly. Drinkable and pleasant enough. This was one of those I enjoyed the most in the 1999 - 2005 range - though there really was little between them.

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